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Experts to review MH370 search operation

A who's who of aviation experts will meet in Canberra next Wednesday to scour data collected in the search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The expert panel will review data as part of the new phase in the search for the missing aircraft.

The panel will also identify specific equipment needs as the search continues on the seabed, which will involve mapping previously uncharted parts of the southern Indian Ocean's seafloor.

Senior Malaysian and Chinese ministers met Australian officials in Canberra on Monday to discuss the next stages of the search, which is being coordinated by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in Perth.

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All three governments remain committed to continuing the search.

JACC head, retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, said the panel would include a "who's who of experts in the aviation world".

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss hopes sub-surface equipment will be operational within two months but refused to speculate on the time frame for the aircraft search.

"We have no idea when it's likely to be found," he said.

"We just always hope it's tomorrow."

While sub-surface equipment is being sourced, search efforts involving Chinese, Malaysian and Australian vessels will continue.

The new search phase will cost an estimated $60 million and require fewer personnel than the initial phase, which involved multiple vessels and aircraft.

The Malaysian government put together the International Investigation Team (IIT), which includes the CIA, FBI and Chinese intelligence, to uncover the cause of MH370's disappearance.

Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishamuddin Bin Tun Hussein, says his government has not ruled out terrorism or hijacking.

The IIT is exploring four possibilities: terrorism, hijacking, a personal situation or a psychological event.

The JACC will move from Perth to Canberra, while base operations remain in Perth.

MH370 was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished on March 8.